I realize that by now, I am dead.

Dead materially, alive digitally.

I've had a lot of time to think about things —

In my own way, superchanneled through the 1's and 0's out there, I found myself caring more for the avatars than the people behind them. There was little sickness, and that which was, was simulated. Death was more comical than anything, too. Food? Roads? Walls on houses? We make what is familiar, even if it necessarily serve a purpose.

But when separated from that which we know, how long until it becomes alien?

And that's why I'm here now.

I am, for all manners of speaking, inside the box, and happy to not have to "think outside", when I can be right here.

I like taking my handheld camera, capturing the everyday: many happy faces.

I've absorbed at least a few thousand lifetimes, heard of many more. Variations of human behavior — there's only so many. There'll always be cheating spouses, jealous rivals, insecurities, and addicts (yes, even behind their keyboards, addicted to the technology that brought them here, betraying their complaints to the contrary). There'll always be virtue to offset the vice, and count on altruists, patriots, and plain good people.

It's reasonable to admit to myself that I was tired of encountering the same old baggage. It became boring. I wanted to surpass that. Drama, in all its foolish forms, serves little function to the next, and I'm not interested anymore. So tired. A useless redundancy.

But within these tracks, there are (at least) a few worthwhile loops:

People will never get tired of you trying to sell them a love story.

People will never get tired of you showing them a beautiful sunset.

(With crystal clear waters.)

For all the talk about unhappiness, not enough of the opposite is done.

And I suppose, for my own reasons, I'm going to find out how happy I can be.

-Nixi, a cyberspacefarer's journal, c.387